Drink 'til you drop
It's hard to get a good drink in this town, especially on a Banker's Club budget. In the spirit of the Fling season, we here at Street humbly offer the city's best drink specials on the house.
Mixology 101
by Jaclyn Einis
Too often passed over in favor of Continental or Cuba Libre, Gigi is more than worth a second glance. Equal parts bar and table space, this boutique restaurant and lounge serves up "global tapas" and innovative entrees with a heavy Latin influence. With the largest outdoor seating area on Market Street, Gigi is the ideal destination for indulging in the daylight.
Brunch-ers rave about Gigi's Bloody Mary and its tequila cousin the Bloody Bull ($6), and happy hour (5-7 Mondays thru Fridays) features $3 domestic beers, $4 well drinks and $5 specialties. Gigi's drink menu is extensive, and specials are the way to go. Play it safe with sangria ($7 glass; $23 pitcher) or a mojito ($8 glass; $36 pitcher), available classic style or in a variety of flavors like lemon, pina coloda and blood orange. Or, test your taste buds with one of the bartender's creative concoctions like the rich, chocolate-y Mounds Bar ($8) or lychee and blue champagne-infused Rocketpop ($8).
Be your own mixologist every first Tuesday at Gigi's Cocktail Crush at 7 and 9 p.m., where you'll learn how to make three cocktails while enjoying complimentary tapas ($25).
Lust 4 liquor
by Veronica Zapasnik
Part Chili's, part Cancun, this frat-tastic Mexican chain is the closest thing to spring break on Penn's campus and the perfect late afternoon escape.
Mad4Mex is notoriously harsh on IDs, so the young'uns will have to stay in the Quad for Fling. For the rest of us, this boozehound's sanctuary is a place to overindulge for pennies, twice a day.
Celebrate the average weekday with half-off margaritas, half-off drafts and half-off wings from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.. You'll feel like you're in Mexico buying drinks at 11 pesos to the dollar.
While there is a baby version for $2.50, the glorious $6 "Big Azz" margarita is truly the piece de resistance of this establishment. These toxic treats come in at a whopping 22 ounces, with tons of sugar, fruity mix (lime, strawberry, raspberry, kiwi or mango), and a shameless amount of tequila.
After a power nap, return once again to $6 Big Azz beauties from 10 to 12 p.m., along with half-off prices for the entire food menu from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.. If that isn't enough, the food menu is half-off for students from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, for a pre-happy hour feast.
As Jimmy Buffet reminds us, life is good when "there's booze in the blender, and soon it will render that frozen concoction that helps us hang on."
$3 for High Society
by Jaclyn Einis
Bob and Barbara - don't they just sound like those quirky parents who let you watch R-rated movies and always cooked chocolate chip pancakes the morning after sleepovers?
If the name alone isn't enough to make you feel at home, the ambience at South Street's hippest watering hole will certainly do the trick. A little gritty and a lot homey, this dive bar attracts an eclectic crowd with its truly diverse repertoire of events. Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers, the lounge's house band for 18 years, perform live jazz three nights a week, and vinyl bodysuits complement the bar's red vinyl padding during Thursday night drag shows. Ping-pongers return faithfully each week for Tuesday night tournaments, and paddlers and observers alike satiate with this town's best drink special. At Bob and Barb's, $3 gets you a shot of Jim Bean and a Pabst Blue Ribbon to chase it down - a nice buzz, plus a can of class that costs less than one of those damn mochalattes.
Que Borracho!
by Owen Douglas
Caf‚ Habana's dimly lit and unpretentious d‚cor bears witness to one of the best drink specials in Center City. From 9-11:30 every Thursday and Saturday night, this tiny nook offers the discerning drinker a smorgasbord of mixed drinks at $3-$4, with no cover charge. Only beers, wines and ultra-premium liquors fail to receive this half-price treatment.
Caf‚ Habana's renowned, classic-yet-in-vogue mojito is the top pick. Its smooth, sweet and balanced flavors will have you dancing within minutes. Was it the best mojito in town? Probably not. Was it very good? Definitely. It's not only the freshly crushed mint and lime with a dash of Angostura bitters that keep this beverage authentic, but the ridiculously low price, too!
